Uniform-paper-feed mechanism for voting-machines.



- I 0,. 0. ABBOTT. UNIFORM PAPER FEED MECHANISM FOR VOTING MACHINES. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20, 1907.

91 4,005 Patented Mar, 2,1909. z sums-sum '1.

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G. G. ABBOTT. UNIPOBI PAPER FEED MEGHANISM FOB VOTING MACHINES.

ARPLIOATIOIT FILED MAY 20, 1907.

Patented Mar. 2,1909.

2 sums-sum 2.

'INI/ENTOH S w B w W Arm/mgr UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES G. ABBOTT, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO TRIUMPH VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

UNIFORM-PAPER-FEED MECHANISM FOR VOTING-MACHINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. ABBOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsfield, county of Berkshire, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Uniform-Paper-Feed Mechanism for Voting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide uniform feeding mechanism for the independent voting strip in voting machines.

With this end in view I provide a third roll which I term the paper feed roll, to which the power is applied and which actuates the receiving roll by frictional contact with the winding of paper thereon and partly around which the strip of paper passes. thus produce a uniform feed by drawing the same amount of paper from the supply roll each time the feed roll is actuated without regard to the amount of paper that has been wound on the receiving roll, avoid waste of paper, decrease the difficulty in tabulating independent votes, greatly reduce the amount of paper that must be provided for independent voting and reduce the amount of space that must be provided in a voting machine to receive the paper rolls.

In the accompayning drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation as seen from the rear, illustrating my novel pa er feeding mechanism, the top plate of t e machine and the supports being in section and no paper being shown on the rolls; Fig. 2 a plan view of the paper feeding mechanism, the supports being in section on the line 22 in Fig. 1 looking down; Fig. 3 a section on the line 33 in Fig. 1 looking toward the right; and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the mechanism as seen from the right in Fig. 1.

10 denotes the front plate, 11 the back plate and 12 transverse supports shown as secured to the front and back plates.

13 denotes the supply roll which is journaled in housings 14 secured to supports 12. One of the journals of the supply roll lies in a slot in the top of the housing and is retained therein by a swinging latch 15. For convenience in illustration no paper is shown ofifthe rolls in Figs. 1 and 2. The indeendent voting strip, however, is indicated liy a dotted line in Figs. 8 and 4, as at 16. The paper passes from the supply roll over a backing plate 17 and independent votes are Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 20, 1907.

Patented March 2, 1909.

Serial No. 374,611.

written on the portion of the strip supported by the backing plate. After passing the backing plate the strip asses partly around the paper feed roll whic is indicated by 18 and will presently be fully described. The end of the independent voting strip is secured in any suitable manner to a receiving roll 19 which is journaled in slots 20 in housings 14, which are shown as curved in the vertical plane. In Fig. 3 I have indicated by dotted lines a relatively large amount of paper on the supply roll and a relatively small winding of paper on the receiving roll, while in Fig. 4 I have indicated by dotted lines a relatively small amount of paper on the supply roll and a relatively large winding of paper on the receiving roll in order to indicate the manner in which the journals of the receiving roll, which are specifically indicated by 21, move upward in slots 20 as the winding of paper on the receiving roll increases. The paper feed roll 18 is loose on a shaft 22 which is journaled in bearings 23 secured to supports 12. Motion may be imparted to shaft 22 in any suitable manner. In the present instance I have shown said shaft as provided with a spiral gear 24 which meshes with a spiral pinion 25 on a shaft 26. The end of the paper feed roll opposite to gear 24 is provided with a clutch member 27. The corresponding clutch member 28 is carried by a sleeve 29 which is secured to shaft 22 by a pin and slot connection, as at 30, so that it may slide longitudinally thereon, but without independent rotation.

31 denotes a collar which is free to slide on sleeve 29 and is provided with a lug 32 which is engaged by an incline 33 on a vertically reciprocating cam bar 34.

35 denotes a spring inclosing sleeve 29 which bears against clutch member 28 and against collar 31 and serves as a cushion for clutch member 28 should the teeth meet end to end.

36 denotes a collar fixed on sleeve 29 which acts to limit the movement of collar 31 toward the left.

37 denotes a clutch lever, fulcrumed on a bracket 38 secured to one of the housings 14, one end of which is engaged by a longitudinally reciprocating actuating bar 39. I have shown the clutch lever as provided with a notch 40 which receives a slotted toe 41 at the end of the actuating bar, said toe extending inward through an aperture 42 on the front plate. The other end of the clutch lever is provided with a yoke 43 which partly incloses collar 31 and engages lugs 44 extending therefrom. The movement of sleeve 29 toward the left is limited, and strain upon the clutch lever and actuating bar prevented by the engagement of sleeve 29 with a thrust collar 46 on shaft 22.

It is suflicient for the purposes of this specification to state that in independent voting the voter casts his ballot for an independent candidate by writing the name of the candidate upon the independent voting strip which is disclosed through apertures in the front plate, said apertures being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, as at 45. These apertures are, for the convenience of voters, placed obliquely to the vertical plane. Each aperture is in practice closed by a shutter and the opening of any shutter by means of intermediate connections actuates bar 39 which controls the clutch mechanism. For the sake of cl-earness in illustration, the shutters and the operating connections for the actuating bar are not shown in the drawings, it being sufiicient to state that before an independent vote can be cast, mechanism must be operated which actuates bar 39 and places the clutch members in engagement so that the paper feed roll must be actuated by the rotation of shaft 22. The independent voting shutters and the mechanism co-acting therewith are, moreover, fully illustrated and described in my Letters Patent for independent shutter locking mechanism, Number 873,828, dated December 17, 1907.

The operation is as follows: When there is noindependent voting, actuating bar 39 is not operated and the parts illustrated remain in the position shown. Should there be any independent voting, however, bar 39 will be actuated and will be moved from the position shown in Fig. l toward the left. This will actuate sleeve 29 and place clutch member 28 in engagement with clutch member 27 on paper feed roll 18. After a voting operation the voter actuates operating mechanism which by means of intermediate connections (not shown) imparts rotation to shaft 26, whichin turn imparts rotation to shaft 22. If there has been no independent voting, the clutch members will not be in engagement and the rotation of shaft 22 will have no eflect on the paper feed roll. If an independent vote has been cast, the clutch members will have been placed in engagement through the actuation of bar 39 and the clutch lever, and the rotary movement of shaft 22 will be imparted to the paper feed roll. The effect of this rotary movement of the paper feed roll, partly around which the strip of paper passes, will be to draw the required amount of paper from the paper supply roll and, through frictional contact with the winding of paper on the receiving roll, to wind an e ual amount of the strip thereon, drawing t e used portion of the strip off from the backing plate and placing a fresh portion of the strip in position for the next independent voter.

The vitally important feature of the pres ent invention is that I insure the winding of the same amount of the independent voting strip on the receiving roll each time the paper feed roll is actuated. As the diameter of the winding of paper on the receiving roll increases, the ournals 21 of said roll will travel upward in slots 20 which are preferably, although not necessarily, curved. It will be obvious that the same amount of rotary movement will be imparted to shaft 22 each time it is actuated, and that the effect of the rotary movement of the paper feed roll when carried thereby will be to impart the same amount of surface movement to the winding of paper on the receiving roll. I thus prevent waste of paper by insuring that a uniform amount of paper be drawn from the supply roll each time an independent vote is cast without regard to the amount of paper already wound on the receiving roll. Another function performed through the actuation of the operating mechanism and inter mediate connections (not shown) after a voting operation is to raise cam bar 34. Where there has been no independent voting, this raising of the cam bar has no effect upon the mechanism herein shown. If, however, there has been independent voting, clutch member 28 will be in engagement with clutch member 27 on the paper feed roll. WVhen the upward movement of the cam bar takes place, incline 33 thereon will engage lug 32 on collar 31, the effect of which will be to move sleeve 29 from the engaged positionto the disengaged position as shown in Fig. 1, which will oscillate the clutch lever and return actuating bar 39 to its normal or non-voting position as in Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a supply roll, a feed roll partly around which the strip of paper passes and a loosely-journaled receiving roll bearing on the feed roll, of a shaft on which the feed roll is loosely mounted, a clutch member fixed to the feed roll, a sleeve keyed to said shaft and having longitudinal movement thereon, a clutch member carried by said sleeve, a collar sliding on said sleeve, a buffer spring between the clutch member and the sleeve, and a lever engaging the collar for moving the sliding clutch member into and out of the engaging position.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a supply roll, a feed roll'partly around which the strip of paper passes and a loosely journaled receiving roll bearing on the feed roll, of a shaft on which the feed roll is loosely mounted, a clutch member fixed to the feed roll, a sleeve keyed to the shaft and having longitudinal movement thereon, a clutch member carried by said sleeve, a collar sliding on said sleeve and provided with a lug, a buffer spring between said collar and the clutch member, means operating on said collar to place the clutch members in engagement, and means operating on said lug to disengage the clutch members.

3. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a supply roll, a feed roll partly around which the strip of paper passes and a loosely journaled receivlng roll bearing on the feed roll, of a shaft on which the feed roll is loosely mounted, a clutch member fixed to the feed roll, a sleeve keyed to the shaft and having longitudinal movement thereon, a clutch member carried by said sleeve, a collar sliding on said sleeve, a buffer spring between said collar and the clutch member, a lever engaging the collar for placing the clutch members in enga ement, and an actuating bar engaging the ever.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES C. ABBOTT. Witnesses:

GEO. O. B. HAWLEY, CHARLES H. PITNEY. 

